Augustus bigelman



.fmo Model.) a .Sheets--Sheet '1.

I A. BIGBLMAN.

REGISTERING AND GANGELING BALLOT BOX.-

No. 380,978. v Patented Apr. 1.0, 1888.

, I m I" M N. PEIERSv Pholu-Uthogmphnn wilhlngibm D. G

"(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 4 A. BIGELMAN.-

REGISTBRINGAND GANGELING BALLOT BOX.

No. 380,978. Patented Apr. 10, 1888.

Nv PETERS, Mule-Litho ra her, Washington, D. C.

(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet a.

' A. BIGBLMAN.

REGISTERING AND GANGBLING BALLOT BOX; No. 380,978. Patented Apr. 10, 188.8.

HiIH lEIMIH 1 1!. iii- EIDJWI mmll UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTUS BIGELMAN, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

REGISTERING AND CANCELING BALLOT-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 380,978, dated AprillO, 1888.

I Application filed December 20, 1887. Serial No. 258,524. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS BIGELMAN, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Troy, in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York,have inventeda new and useful Improvement in BallotBoxes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in ballot-boxes; and it consists in thepeculiar construction and combination of devices, that will be more fully set forth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a ballot-box provided with mechanism embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the registering and stamping mechanism, the same being removed from the ballot-box. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the ballot-box and the mechanism therein. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 00 wof Fig. 3 and lookingin the direction indicated by the arrow in said figure. Fig. 5 is a similar view taken on the line as x of Fig. 3 and looking in the opposite direction from that indicated by the arrow in said figure. Fig. 6 is a transverse section on line y y of Fig. 2.

Arepresents a ballot-box of suitable size, which is provided with the lid B.

C represents a metallic frame, which comprises the top plate, D, the base-plate E, and standards or posts F, which connect the said plates together. The base-plate E fits in a recess or groove, G, made in the lowerside edges of the lid of the boX, and is provided on its upper side at diagonally-opposite corners with locks H, the bolts of which are adapted to engage keepers I, that are secured in the lower side edges of thelid. By this means the frame is secured firmly in the lid, so that it will be out of the Way when the lid is opened.

In the upper plate, D, near one corner thereof, is made a circular opening, K, in which is arranged a ring, L, which is flattened on its upper and lower sides,the said ring being supported on a flange, M, that projects inward from the lower side of the opening K. The ring L is provided on its lower side with a series of ratchet-teeth, N, which .may vary in number according to the capacity of the ballot-box; but in a box which is to count ten thousand ballots there will be fifty of such ratchet-teeth.

On the upper side of the ringLare inscribed a series of radial numbers which are arranged at equal distances apart, each number differing in value to the extent of two hundred units from the number preceding it, and said numbers ranging from naught to nine thousand eight hundred. These numbers are coincident with the ratchet-teeth on the lower side of the ring L.

On the inner side of the ring L is arranged a rigid partition flangering, O, which is secured in position by a plate,P, which is screwed to the top plate, D, and to the said partitionring, and by a bridge-platalt, which is arrangedover one side of the opening K and is screwed to the plateD and to the ring 0. The ring 0 is provided at its lower side with an annular flange which extends inwardly, as shown, and on the said flange is supported a ring, S,which is concentric with the ring L and is similar thereto. The said ring S is provided with a series of depending studs, T, which are arranged equidistant apart and are twenty in number, and on the said plate is inscribed a series of twenty radial numbers ranging from naught to one hundred and ninety, each number on the ring S exceeding to the extent of ten units the value of the number which precedes it.

From the plate P depends a vertical arm, U, which bears against the inner edge of the ring S, and to the said arm is secured a spring stop or detent, V, which is adapted to engage the studs T in succession, as will be hereinafter described.

From the center of the plate P depends a spindle, W, on which is journaled a circular disk, X, which is arranged near one side of and within the ring S. This disk is provided with a series of ten numbers ranging from naught to nine in regular notation, as shown. From the center of the disk X depends a sleeve, which is provided with a ratchetwheel,

Y, having as many teeth as there are numbers on the disk. An arm, Z, is secured to the under side of the bridge-plate and is provided with a spring-detent, A,that engages the teeth of the ratchet-wheel Y successively as the ratchet-wheel and disk are rotated.

B represents a circular flange, which depends from the plate D around the opening K, and from the said plate D depends an arm, 0, to which is secured a mm, D, the ends of which extend in opposite directions from the arm. The upper edge of this cam is shaped as shown and corresponds to the contour of that portion of the flange B which is above the cam, a cam-slot being formed between the opposing edges of the cam and the flange B. To the ring S, on the under side thereof, is pivoted a pawl, E.

F represents an operating-arm, which has its inner end pivoted on the sleeve that de pends from the disk X, and the said operatingarm is provided near its outer end with a spring-actuated pawl, G, which is adapted to engage the teeth of ratchet-wheel Y. From one side of the disk X projects a tappet-arm, I, which is adapted to engage the studs T of the ring S successively at each rotation of the disk X, and from the said disk at a suitable distance from the tappet-arm projects a stopfinger, K.

L represents a cage, which is arranged in a vertical position between the plates D and E, near one corner of the same, is provided with horizontal openings M, as shown, and has its front side entirely open. The upper end of the said cage is coincident with an opening, N, in the plate D; but the lower side of the cage is closed by the plate E. The latter has one corner which is adjacent to the cage cut away to form an opening, 0, between the lid and the main compartment of the boX.

Prepresents a rock-shaft, which is arranged vertically between the plates D and E and has its bearingsin the said plates. From one side of this rock-shaft projects a gate, R, that co1nprises the series of horizontal bars S, which are adapted to normally close the front side of the cage. From the opposite side of the rockshaft projects an arm, T.

U represents a link, which has its inner end pivotally connected to the operating-arm F, and is provided near its outer end with a slot, V, of suitable length. A screw or stud, V, extends up through the said slot and is secured to the outer end of the arm T.

X represents a spring, which connects the outer end of the arm T to the outer end of the link U, and Y represents a coiled retraetile spring, which connects the arm T" to a stud that depends from the front side of plate D, the function of said retractile spring being to keep the gate normally closed on the front side of the cage and to keep the stud in the outer end of the slot V of the link.

Z represents a vertical shaft or rod, which connects the plates D and E together near the cutaway corner of plate E, and on the said shaft or rod is hinged or pivoted a concavoconvex leaf, A, in the convex side of which is secured an inking-pad, B, which is saturated with a suitable printing chemical, such as now commonly employed with rubber printingstamps.

0 represents a spring,which is coiled on the shaft or rod Z, has one end bearing against the concave side of the leafand the other end secured to a stop, D on the upper side of plate E. The function of this spring is to normally move the leaf outward.

E represents a shalt, which is journaled in the plates D and E at apoint just beyond the free ends of the arms of the gate, and the said shaft is provided with oppositelyextending arms F",which are adapted to pass through the openings M of the cage and between the bars S, of the gate when the shaft E is rotated. These arms F are each provided on each side with a rubber printing-stamp, G, having a raised printing-surface adapted to printanysuitable mark, word, or symbol upon the ballots. The

lower arms F of the series are provided at their outer ends with cams H", the edges of which are curved, as shown, and are adapted to engage the lower side of the convex face of the hinged spring-pressed leaf. The upper end of the shaft E is reduced toform aspindle,thereby forming a shoulder, l, at a suitable distance below the plate D, the said shoulder having on its upper side aseries of radial ratchetteeth, K".

L represents a'stnd, which depends from the plate D at the side thereof adjacent to the shaft E and to the said stud is pivoted the outer end of a detent, M, the inner end of which is provided with an opening, through which the reduced upper spindle of shaft E extends, and on the under side of the free end of the detent are formed radial ratchet-teeth N, which engage the ratchet-teeth 1 on the shaft, and thereby effectually prevent the latter from rotating in a reverse direction to'that indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2. A coiled spring, 0", is arranged on the upper spindle of the shaft and bears between the plate D and the detent M said springserving tokeep the teeth of said detent engaged with the teeth of the shaft. The extreme upper end of the spindle of shaft E is provided with screwthreads, and the said spindle registers with and extends partly through an opening, 1?, in the top of the box. An opening, R is made in the top of the box directly over the upper end of the cage and communicating therewith, and an opening, S is made in the top of the box directly over one side of the rings L and S and of the disk X, so that one of the figures on each of the said rings and disk will be visible through the said opening S.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The mechanism is in its initial position when the figures O on the rings L S and on the disk X are in line with each other and register with the opening S. The lid of the box is closed and locked,and a crank-handle, a, is screwed to the upper end of the spindle of shaft Each voter passes his ballot through the opening It", from which it drops into the cage, and the inspector then grasps the crankhandle and rotates the same once, thereby causing the shaft E to revolve. As the said shaft commences to turn, the printing-surfaces on the arms of one side thereof bear against shaft bearing against the lower side of the leaf and causing the latter to swing rearward out of the way of the shaft-arms, but causing the leaf to be kept in such close proximity to the said arms while they are passing on the face thereof as to thoroughly ink the printing-sun faces on the said arms. As soon as the arms pass beyond the free edge of the spring-pressed leaf, the latter reassumes its normal position, and the arms pass through the openings M in the cage and press against the rear side of the ballot in the cage, and thereby force the bal lot against the arms of the gate and print the back of the ballot, so as to indicate that the same has been regularly placed in the box. As the ballot becomes pressed between the arms of the rotating shaft and the arms of the gate, it closes the openings between the gatearms, and consequently prevents the shaft- ,arms from passing therethrough, and as the shaft continues to rotate the rock-shaft P of the gate is turned, and consequently the gate is opened and the ballot is forced from the cage through the openings 0 into the ballot-box. While the gate is being thus opened the arm '1" is being moved inward, as will be readily understood, and the spring X, which connects the said arm to the link U, moves the latter and causes it to swing the operating-arm F a distance equal to the width of one of theteeth on the ratchet-wheel Y,thereby causing the pawl G to slip idly forward and engage one of the ratchet-teeth. At the instant that the ballot is discharged from the sweepprintingarms and becomes disengaged from the gatearms the gate is released, and the spring Y returns it to its initial position, thereby drawing outward on the link U and causing the latter to return the 'operating arm' F to its initial position, and causing the pawl G to turn the disk X a distance equal to onespace, so as to bring number 1, of the said disk under the opening S", and thereby register the fact that one ballot has been deposited in the box. When nine ballots have been deposited in the box, the disk Xhas been moved through nine-tenths of a complete rotation, and thetappet-arm I is in engagement with the stud.l of ring S, which is coincident With 0 011 the said ring. tVhen the tenth ballot is dropped into the box and the shaft E is rotated for the tenth time, the disk X in its tent-h partial rotation causes itstappet-arm to move the ring S a distance of one space, so as to bring the figure 10 of said disk under the opening S in the lid, said number 10 being then in line with 0 on the ring L and on the disk X. At the eleventh rotation of the shaft E, when the eleventh ballot is deposited, the disk X will be again moved as before, so as to bring its figurel in line with the number ,10 of the ring S, which will then register the fact that eleven ballots have been deposited, the figures on the ring S representing tens and the figures on the disk X representing units, and hence the number 10 on the ring S and the number 1 on the disk X will be read as 10 plus 1 equals 11. The highest number on the ring S is 190, and when the said ring has been turned by the rotation of the disk X so that the said number 190 registers with the opening in the box-top the pawl I E isin the cam-slot near the highest point thereof. When the disk X has moved through nine-tenths of a rotation after the ring S is in this position, its figure 9 will be arranged opposite the number 190 on said ring S, and will then indicate that one hundred and ninetynine ballots have been cast. When the twohundredth ballot has been deposited in the box, the tappetarm of the disk X engages the stud T'opposite the number 190 in ring S, thereby moves said ring one space, so as to bring O thereon under the opening S and as the said ring S moves the detent or pawl E is guided by the cam slot into engagementowith one of the teeth of the outer ring, L, which indicates hundreds, and moves the said ring one space, so as to bring the number 200 thereon under the opening S When three hundred and ninetynine ballots have been deposited, the number 190 on the ring S will be opposite the number 200 on ring L, and the figure 9 on the disk X willbe opposite the number 190 on ring S, the sum of the ballots being then read as follows: 200 on ring L plus 190 on ring S plus 9 on disk X equal 399. When the four-hundredth ballot is cast, the pawl E of ring S will again move the ring L, before described, so as to bring the number 400 on said ring under the opening in the box-top, the disk X at the same rotating, so as to bring 0 on said ring S and on said disk X opposite the number 400 on ring 7 L, when the sum of the ballots will be read: 400 on ring L plus 0 on ring S plus 0 on disk X equal 400. 'In this manner the machine keeps a register of each ballot as it is cast up to the full capacity of the machine, so that when the poll is closed the election supervisors, before unlocking the ballot-box, can ascertain the number of ballots that have been deposited therein by glancing through the opening S and reading the sum of the numbers on the rings and disk under said opening. When counting the ballots in the box, the supervisors can ascertain whether each has been legally cast by noting whether or not it has been printed or marked as it passed into the box.

In the event that a voter should illegally put two or more ballots into the box at one time, only one of the ballots will be printed or marked upon as it is swept into the lower portion of the box and only one will be registered by the machine, and when the supervisors count the ballots'they will discover that some number will exceed the number registered by the machine, and those that are not printed or marked upon will be thrown out.

In the event that a voter or other person should rotate the crank without dropping a ballot into the box, the arms of the sweep will pass between the arms of the gate and the latter will not be moved, and hence the registering devices will not be operated.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In a ballot-box, the combination of the registering mechanism, the swinging springpressed gate,connections between the gate and the registering mechanism, and the shaft E, having the sweep-arms adapted to pass between the bars of the gate, and thereby oper ate the gate when a ballot is interposed be tween said sweep-arms and said gate, substair tially as described.

2. In a ballot-box, the combination of the cage to receive the ballot, the gate closing one side of the cage, the registering mechanism, connections between the same and the gate to U operate the former, and the shaft E having sweeparms adapted to pass between the bars of the cage and of the gate, and to thereby opcrate the latter when a ballot. is deposited in the cage, substantially as described.

3. In a ballot-box, the combination of the cage to receive the ballot, the springpressed gate closing one side of the cage, and the shaft E",having the sweep-arms provided with print ing or marking surfaces, for the purpose set forth, substantially as described.

L. In a ballot-box, the combination of the gate, the shaft E having the sweep-arms provided with printing-surfaces, and the yielding leaf having the inking-surface adapted to contact with the printing-surfaces of the sweeparms, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the revolving shaft E having the arms provided with printingsurfaces, and the hinged or pivoted springpressed leaf having the inking-surface and arranged in the path of the sweep, substantially as described.

6. The combination of the yielding gate to arrest the ballotand the printing-sweep to force the ballot past the gate against the resistance of the latter, and thereby print or mark the ballot, as set forth.

7. The combination of the ballot-box having the opening It, the plate or diaphragm E, having the opening O,out of register with the opening E the cage or way communicating with the latter opening, the gate closing one side of said cage, the registering mechanism, connections between the same and the gate, and the sweep device to press the ballot against the gate,and thereby open the latter and sweep the ballot into opening 0, substantially as described.

8. The combination of the ballot-box hav ing opening R with the plate or diaphragm having opening 0, the cage having the openings M, the gate closing the front side of the cage and having similar openings, the registering mechanism, connections between the same and the gate, and the revolving shaft E having the sweep-arms adapted to pass through the openings in the cage and gate, substantially as described.

9. In a ballot-box, the combination of the gate controlling the admission of ballots and having arm T, the registering mechanism, the operating-arm F. therefor, the link connecting said ope-ratingarm to the gate-arm T, and the spring to normally keep the gate closed, substantially as described.

10. The combination of the units-disk X, having the tappet-arm and ratchet-wheel Y, the numbered ring S, having the studs adapted to be engaged in succession at each rotation ofdisk X, said ring having the pawl E, the numbered ring L, having the teeth, the fixed cam adapted to engage pawl E with the teeth of ring Lin succession at each rotation of ring S, the operating-arm 1*", having the pawl G engaging the ratchet-wheel. the yielding gate having arm T, the link U, connected to arm F and having slot V, the pin W of arm T, working in said slot, and the spring X, connecting the link to the arm 1", substantially as described.

11. The combination of the registering mechanism having the operating-arm, the gate having arm T, the link connected to the operating-arm and having slot V, the pin or stud working in said slot and secured to arm T, and the spring X, connecting the arm T to the link, substantially as described.

12. In a ballot-box having the opening It", the plate or diaphragm having the opening t), the cage or passage way for the ballot communicating with the opening R, the gate closing the outlet for the cage or way, the registering mechanism connecting with the gate, and the sweep to press the ballot against the gate, said sweep carrying a printer or stamp to come in contact with the ballot, and said sweep being adapted to open the gate and sweep the ballot, after it is printed, through the opening 0, as set forth.

13. A ballot-box having an openin It", the plate or'diaphragm having the opening 0', the cage or way for the ballot communicating with the opening It", the gate closing the out let for the cage or way, the registering mechanism connecting with the gate, the sweep to press the ballot against the gate and open the latter and discharge the ballot into the opening 0, and the printer actuated by the sweep to stamp the ballot at or about the time it is recorded, as set forth.

let. The combination of the yielding gate to arrest the ballot, the printing-sweep to force the ballot past the gate against the resistance of the latter, the registering mechanism, and connections between the same and the gate, for the purpose set forth, substantially as specified.

15. The combination of the pivoted springpressed gate to arrest the ballot and the printing-sweep to force the ballot past the gate IIO against the resistance of the latter, substan- In testimony thatI claim the foregoing as my tially as described. v own Ihave hereto affixed my signature in pres- Y 16. The combination of the yielding gate to ence of two witnesses.

arrest the progress of the ballot and the piv- AUGUSTUS BIGELMAN.

5 ote'd printing-sweep to force the ballot past Witnesses:

the gate and simultaneously print or mark the ANsoN DAKIN SIMPSON, ballot, substantially as described. FRANCIS EATON GATES. 

